Am I the only one on here bothered by this?

Post Reply New Topic

I hate the way threads like this turn into political platforms...

I'm only going to address the OP here.

Blasty, you are, what? 25 years old now? Let me know in about thirty years whether you feel the same as you do now.

I'll be fifty in about two months. I've NEVER before played the AS or Autism "card," but I'm about to. Why? Because I've spent my entire LIFE beating my head against brick walls trying to do what you've been doing, and for a long time been somewhat successful at it. After many temporary burn-outs and restarts, I've finally decided I've had enough.

Is it wrong for me to make that decision now? Should I wait until I'm 55? 60? 70? 75?

How many years am I supposed to keep trying to fit into a society I'm not wired for? How many more times should I beat my head against unyielding walls?

I'm now seeking a diagnosis so I can finally take advantage of programs I have NO access to and never have. I have AS, I'm positive of it. All I need is for the right doctor to confirm it. My wife very likely has it, or is at least on the spectrum. My oldest son, though he tested on the spectrum, could not get a diagnosis by the doctor that tested him. My other two sons are diagnosed on the spectrum, one with AS and the other with PDD-NOS.

Do you have any idea what it's like to be on the spectrum, married to someone who probably is too, and raising three kids who ARE on the spectrum?!

I highly doubt it.

What makes you think you know anywhere near enough to judge others who seek help when they've decided they need it?

As angry as your comments make me, I am actually glad that you have been able to do so well for yourself.

But we are NOT you! And that is the peeve that most of us have for an NT world that thinks we are all alike.

WE'RE NOT!! !! !

We do not all have your abilities. We don't all have the same connections in life, or know the right people, or know how to get to know the right people to succeed in this world independently.

YOU, I dare say, are way to young to be thinking you "have what it takes." I hope you do! But at only 25, you haven't that much of a track record yet.

I hope you do well for yourself. I really do! But I'll warn you, I felt exactly the same way at your age! And just because I'm looking into support now, doesn't mean I'm "giving up!"

I'm doing it to avail me and my family of SERVICES that I hope will help us all learn to deal better with life and work or business. It is altogether possible I could end up on assistance for the rest of my life, but that isn't my goal. My goal is to get something else going (a job or a business I can work at for more than a few years without burning out). If that doesn't work out, the more long term goal is to better prepare my KIDS so they [hopefully] will never need public assistance.

We have tried "on our own," and haven't done very well. Should we just keep doing what we have been doing, which has NOT worked well, and keep getting the same results, our kids very likely learning to do the same? Can you see the vicious cycle of dependence that could result from that?

I want you to know that I am FULLY aware of where the money comes from for the programs. Don't forget that that money has come out of MY pocket for more years than you have been alive.

My money has gone to help a lot of people, some of whom really needed it, and some of whom did not deserve it, for 35 years now! So, no, now that I need help (an admission that was very hard for me to make I'll have you know), I'm not feeling shameful about it.

AND, I would never begrudge those who afford themselves of help who really need it.

More importantly though, I refuse to judge those who receive public assistance, unless I know for certain they are defrauding the system. I keep in mind that I do not know their particular circumstances. I do not know if they are truly able to work and support themselves.

And...

Neither do you.

So being a slave is an improvement on being hungry? I guess you're right. Capitalist policies are a godsend for them.

I am unemployed, because I have to be social to get any job around here. I know that someday I will be able to get a job, if it involves filing or computers. I have thought about getting social security, but I feel the way you do. I am too dignified to take money that other people should have. I am not so severely disabled that I can't get a job someday, so I hold off on it. I don't want to walk in that SS office and say, "Hey, I have Aspie's, I need money." It really seems like a crutch. But, I am being supported by my family, too. My mom, sister and step-dad all have jobs. If I lived on my own, I would probably need money from somewhere, and I live in a really small town where it's really hard to find jobs.

I think it really depends on the situation a person is in, and where you are on the autistic spectrum.

Steer the conversation away from the money aspect of Public vs. Private. What do you think of the Nurture aspects of Public vs. Private? Aside from the fact that Autisms seems to have generally horrible and waistful private charities that seem to focus on the wrong things to help. Do you think that the government does a better job helping Aspies? or could a propperly funded and oriented private charity do a better job?

Am I the only one that gets an intensely bad feeling from this topic? This s**t is just way too depressing for people who actually THINK and FEEL. It seems like beyond all our polite civilization, rules, protections, etc... when it comes down to it life is a zero sum game and we are all hunks of meat in the cosmic meat grinder. Take away the institutions that placate us, and the high tech toys that distract us and we'd be at each other's throats. It's all about ME ME ME ME ME f*****g ME!! ! I'm not gonna pay no extra taxes for some bum who can't work! I don't care if he's an orphaned quadriplegic, it's MY MONEY!! ME ME MINE!! Disgusting.

I'm through with this.

I do too. It's carefully rationalized hatred. For those of us who need these programs it's not just a debate where every side is equal.